Bedford Woman Arrested for Allegedly Battering a 23-Month-Old Child

A Bedford woman was arrested Tuesday after investigators say she battered and injured her boyfriend’s 23-month-old son.

Arrested and Charged was Chelsee New, 29, Bedford, IN

– Battery on a Minor, Causing Injury, Level 5 Felony

– Criminal Confinement, Level 3 Felony

– Neglect of a Dependent, Level 5 Felony

On Tuesday, Senior Trooper Jarrod Lents was contacted by the Indiana Department of Child Services to assist with investigating a child at a daycare center in Padanaram that had suffered numerous bruises and bites.

According to child care workers who had initially reported the injuries to DCS, the 23-month-old child had sustained injuries sometime between the Friday afternoon of November 10th and the Monday morning of November 13th.

Lents learned that the only people the child was with during that time was the child’s father, Dakota Padgett, and Padgett’s girlfriend, 29-year-old Chelsee New of Bedford.

Through the course of the investigation, Lents and DCS learned that New had babysat the infant child during the weekend, and had struck and bit him as disciplinary measures.

New was placed into custody and charged with battering and neglecting the child, as well as criminally confining him.

The infant was taken into custody by the Department of Child Services and was transported to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis for evaluation and treatment.